A Family Feeling

PATRICK Anderson, 40, a photo journalist from Germany, likes his curry, idli and sambar authentic and homemade when he visits south India on an assignment. The family he stays with in Nungambakkam in Madras provides him with all this and more. They pick him up and drop him at the airport, cook his favourite upma on request and take care of most of his needs. For Anderson-who is on his fourth visit in one year-this is a home away from home.

Indeed, the concept of paying guest holidays is catching on in Tamil Nadu and the other southern states with foreign tourists who find a special appeal in living with a traditional family and getting a feel of the "real" India. Hotels may provide comfort and excellent service, but tourists often find them claustrophobic and lacking in a personal touch. "I prefer to wake up to nadaswaram mu'sic or devotional songs and have a bath with turmeric powder using well water,'' says Patricia Ellet, a paying guest from Florida. "It gives me a first-hand knowledge of India, its people, culture and tradition."

Seeing this interest, the Government of India's Tourism Department is aggressively promoting the concept in the country and abroad. The department publishes a list of families willing to host tourists and it includes details about the types of rooms available; facilities such as air-conditioners or fans; vegetarian or non-vegetarian meals; leisure activities such as yoga, music and painting; and whether it is bed and breakfast or a 24-hour service.

The brochure is circulated among tour operators, airline offices and the Government of India tourism offices abroad. The guests write directly to the families of their choice and make reservations. The department plays a limited role. It has no control over the tariff, which varies according to the services offered. Some families have a daily rate, others a monthly rate, depending on the length of the stay. The tariff is between Rs 50 and Rs 300 a day, which is way below the rates of even a three-star hotel. What makes the scheme attractive to the hosts is that this income is exempt from tax.

The Tourism Department, however, controls the standards. A team of officials from the Tourism Department, Tamil Nadu Tourism, the Madras Collectorate and the Travel Agents Association of India inspects the house before it is approved. "We check the rooms and facilities offered, the lighting, ventilation, furniture, kitchen and the hygiene and cleanliness of the place," says Dr Poornima Sastry, deputy director-general (south India) of the Tourism Department.

Within three months since the scheme started, the department has received 60 applications from Tamil Nadu, 40 from Kerala, 21 from Karna-taka and 16 from Andhra Pradesh. The figures are high considering the fairly conservative nature of people in the south. ''We get a lot of applications from coffee and tea estate owners and from those living in pilgrim centres such as Madurai and Chidambaram," says Sastry.

The demand for paying guest accommodation from foreign tourists is at its peak during festivals such as Trissur Pooram, Diwali and Shankaranthi and during the numerous temple festivals in Tamil Nadu. The hosts double as guides, taking visitors to the temples and sari and jewellery shops. Often, the guests and their hosts develop a special bond. David Hogerty, a chemical engineer from Arlington, USA, asked his hosts in Mandaveli to find him a traditional Indian bride. They did. Their daughter.

Many families in Adyar and Besant Na-gar in Madras, listed with the Tourism Department, are catering to the flow of foreign students who come to the nearby Kalakshetra to learn dance. T. Tiya from Paris, for instance, wanted to stay close to the school where she was learning Bhara-tanatyam. And the paying guest accommodation helped-her hosts offered to baby-sit her six-month-old baby during her stay.

With the 19-per cent growth rate of foreign tourists to Tamil Nadu last year and 13 per cent already this year, there's a substantial market to be tapped. And despite the fact that Tamil Nadu has the highest number of new hotels coming up in South India- there are over 90 projects underway- these should prove no competition to the paying guest scheme which is patronised mainly by students and small-budget travellers who want to break away from the beaten track. Says Sastry: "An economy class market is waiting to be serviced." Which is why paying guests are obviously a paying proposition.

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